The client/server computing environment continues to expand into web services, with the latest iteration of network supported programmatic access to services and data provided by many service providers. Traditionally, applications have been fairly static in nature. But as information technology (IT) infrastructure has both grown in capability and functionality, IT service providers are moving to viable service provider platforms that are highly adaptive, readily prototyped, and readily scaled through hosted web services, such as the so-called “cloud” computing environment.
Service providers have focused on service integration in the traditional space, such as the practice of providing service management functionality to large enterprises by sourcing transformation-based infrastructure. But there is little, if anything available for interfacing the various platforms.
For example, telecommunications service providers have implemented the Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) industry standard service management process framework to manage both their own and their client's web-based environments. But these providers have not implemented cross-functionality outside of these types of models.
IT service providers have implemented service management stacks based on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). But these are primarily manually-driven systems Others have implemented traditional service integration models, but have not extended these models to comprehend non-traditional environments such as cloud-based computing, web-hosted environments, and other managed services.
Cloud providers have implemented a level of infrastructure technology service management as lightweight single-task processes, such as watchdog services that provide simple monitoring, and other simple availability services. But these do not prove full functionality and lack dynamic provider-driven, multi-client processing, and therefore provide little benefit to traditional systems.
Other providers have implemented so-called “bolt-on” cloud control products, which provide services to control cloud operational models. However, each user has to instantiate their own separate instance of the model to control their own service.